Victorino leads Phillies past Dodgers
POSTED: Saturday, October 11, 2008
PHILADELPHIA » Brett Myers stood on first base, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders. He couldn't explain his hitting success, and no one ever expected it.
Myers did better at the plate than on the mound, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs, and Shane Victorino drove in four runs as the Philadelphia Phillies overcame another homer by Manny Ramirez to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-5 yesterday for a 2-0 lead in the NL championship series.
“;I'm not a very good hitter,”; said Myers, who became the first pitcher to get three hits in an NLCS game. “;I just get lucky occasionally. I'm baffled by it. I would've rather pitched better.”;
A grieving Charlie Manuel was in the dugout with the Phillies, hours after the manager's mother died. Players and coaches from both teams offered condolences before the game. Manuel didn't speak to reporters.
“;I know Charlie told me he talked to his mom on a regular basis and her only concern was for him to go out and win ballgames,”; Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.
The Phillies rallied around their skipper, and now they'll have to do the same for their spark-plug center fielder. Victorino, a St. Anthony graduate, was told after the game that his grandmother died yesterday.
Victorino hopes to attend the funeral in Hawaii without missing any games. No arrangements had been made yet, but Tuesday is a scheduled off day in the series.
Victorino made a clutch catch with two on to end the seventh.
“;He hit it well,”; Victorino said. “;I just told myself, try to get back.”;
Brad Lidge hung on in the ninth for his second save of the series. He walked Ramirez and James Loney, then struck out Matt Kemp and Nomar Garciaparra to end it.
“;We really wanted to win today for Charlie,”; Lidge said.
The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 tomorrow, with 45-year-old Jamie Moyer pitching for Philadelphia against Hiroki Kuroda.
Myers wasn't sharp on the mound, allowing five runs and six hits in five innings. Good thing for the Phillies that he's suddenly become a pesky batter after hitting .069 with one RBI in the regular season.
In Game 2 against Milwaukee in the first round of the playoffs, Myers drew a two-out walk from CC Sabathia and Victorino hit a grand slam two batters later in a 5-2 win.
“;He had four hits all year and three today. That's tough to count on and defend against,”; Torre said.
Myers was surprised, too. At one point, he stood in the dugout, covered his eyes with one hand and feigned a swing with the other, showing a teammate how he did it.
The Phillies, appearing in their first NLCS in 15 years, are two wins from the World Series. They've won just one championship (1980) in the franchise's 126 years.
“;We're not comfortable until we're finished with this whole thing,”; Myers said. “;We're going to keep fighting.”;
Phillies 8, Dodgers 5
| Los Angeles | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| Furcal ss | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .111 |
| Martin c | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .286 |
| MRamirez lf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .375 |
| Ethier rf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .375 |
| Loney 1b | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .429 |
| Kemp cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .143 |
| Dewitt 2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| McDonald p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| a-Garciaparra ph-3b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 |
| Blake 3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .143 |
| Kershaw p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —- |
| Wade p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —- |
| Billingsley p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Park p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —- |
| Beimel p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —- |
| Kent 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 36 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 12
|
| Philadelphia | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| Rollins ss | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .111 |
| Victorino cf | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .222 |
| Utley 2b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .400 |
| Howard 1b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .000 |
| Burrell lf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .429 |
| Bruntlett lf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | —- |
| Werth rf | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .125 |
| Dobbs 3b | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .667 |
| JRomero p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —- |
| Madson p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —- |
| Lidge p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —- |
| Ruiz c | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .429 |
| Myers p | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Durbin p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —- |
| Feliz 3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 35 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 12
|
| Los Angeles | 011 | 300 | 000 | — | 5 | 8 | 1 |
| Philadelphia | 044 | 000 | 00x | — | 8 | 11 | 1
|
a-singled for McDonald in the 7th.
E—Kemp (1), Dobbs (1). LOB—Los Angeles 11, Philadelphia 10. 2B—Loney (1), Werth (1), Ruiz (1). 3B—Victorino (1). HR—MRamirez (1), off Myers. RBIs—MRamirez 3 (4), Loney (1), Dewitt (2), Victorino 4 (4), Ruiz (1), Myers 3 (3). GIDP—Kent.
Runners left in scoring position—Los Angeles 5 (Dewitt 2, Garciaparra, Blake, Billingsley); Philadelphia 5 (Rollins, Howard, Burrell 3).
Runners moved up—Dewitt, Howard.
DP—Philadelphia 1 (Rollins, Utley and Howard).
| Los Angeles | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
| Billingsley L, 0-1 | 2 1/3 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 59 | 27.00 |
| Park | 1/3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Beimel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0.00 |
| McDonald | 3 1/3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 60 | 0.00 |
| Kershaw | 1 2/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 0.00 |
| Wade | 1/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00
|
| Philadelphia | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
| Myers W, 1-0 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 102 | 9.00 |
| Durbin H, 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0.00 |
| JRomero H, 1 | 2/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0.00 |
| Madson H, 2 | 1 1/3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 0.00 |
| Lidge S, 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 0.00
|
Beimel pitched to 2 batters in the 3rd.
Inherited runners-scored—McDonald 3-0, Wade 1-0, Park 2-2, Beimel 1-0, Madson 1-0.
IBB—off Billingsley (Dobbs) 1, off Myers (Blake) 1. WP—Myers.
Umpires—Home, Jerry Meals; First, Mike Everitt; Second, Ted Barrett; Third, Mike Winters; Left, Gary Cederstrom; Right, Mike Reilly.
T—3:33. A—45,883 (43,647).
